World Container Index by Drewry

January 14, 2026

For many years, World Container Index (WCI) has been the go-to, independent, global reference for index-linked contracts. If your organisation is considering index-linked contracts or requires regional visibility/coverage beyond the eight trade lanes provided below, contact our ocean freight cost benchmarking team.

Drewry’s World Container Index increased 16% to $2,557 per 40ft container this week.

Drewry World Container Index (US$/40ft)

WCI Trade Routes from Shanghai (US$/40ft)

Source: Drewry World Container Index, Drewry Supply Chain Advisors

Our detailed assessment for Thursday, 08 Jan 2026

The Drewry World Container Index (WCI) increased 16% to $2,557 per 40ft container, mainly due to rate hikes on Transpacific and Asia–Europe trade routes.
Spot rates on the Shanghai–Genoa increased 13% to $3,885 per 40ft container, while those on Shanghai–Rotterdam rose 10% to $2,840 per 40ft container. This upward momentum was driven by higher FAK rates implemented by carriers.
Spot rates on Shanghai to Los Angeles surged 26% to $3,132 per 40ft container and those from Shanghai to New York increased 20% to $3,957 per 40ft container.
Capacity rose 7–10% MoM on both Asia–North American routes and 5–7% on Asia–North Europe/Med routes in January, while anecdotal information points to soft volumes from Asia to the US, indicating that these large increases appear opportunistic and unlikely to last long.

Spot freight rates by major route

Our assessment across eight major East-West trades

Source: Drewry Supply Chain Advisors

WCI Methodology

Ocean spot market freight rates against 6,700 global port pairs

If you need spot market container freight rate information on other routes to those above, find out more about our Container Freight Rate Insight (CFRI) online service, which covers 6,700 global port pairs updated monthly (2,450 updated fortnightly).

Source: Drewry